ISSUE 02| February 6, 2017

TAKE ACTION.

Break out your speed dial! (Is speed dial still a thing?)

Call your senator and ask them to vote against Betsy DeVos on 2/6. To prevent her confirmation, we need all Democrats to vote no, and one more Republican to flip and vote no. Don’t assume your Democrat senator is voting against her — call.

Then call back again and ask them to vote against Jeff Sessions. The NRA will have their people out in full force calling in his favor. Let’s make more calls than they do.

Call your senator right back and ask them to vote against Trump’s SCOTUS pick, Neil Gorsuch (who is slightly to the right of the late Justice Scalia). Yes, he is going to get confirmed anyway, but now would be a good time to remind Democrats that they never got around to making Republicans vote on Merrick Garland.

Then, you guessed it, call your senator again and urge them not to roll back regulations that prevent people with severe mental illness from buying guns. The NRA dominates the gun control fight by taking in a lot of donations, so combine these phone calls with a competing donation to Everytown For Gun Safety or The Brady Campaign.

Basically, get very familiar with your senator’s outgoing message today.

Are you from California? Email Dianne Feinstein requesting that Jeff Sessions not be confirmed. Keep it short; she would like to read emails from her constituents on the Senate floor. Include your city and zip to prove you're a constituent. Send your email on this form.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security is taking calls about Bannon's appointment to the National Security Council (NSC). You can call: 202-224-4751.Note: The senate does not confirm NSC appointments. But it’s still a good idea to call them and let them know that you object to having the chairman of a white supremacist website, with no foreign policy experience, on the National Security Council. A House rep has already introduced a bill to have him removed.

Sign up for all your senators’ and representatives’ email lists. Then donate $5 to each of them. Yes, even if they are Republicans. Hear us out! You need to know what your representatives are up to and they probably have a special email list just for donors. Donate a little something so you can get on THAT list and hear the things they don’t want regular constituents to know. Like where the next Town Hall meeting that they only want supporters to show up to is. Then share those emails with your Facebook groups and networks so not everyone has to donate to get the information. Okay, maybe just $1 for the Republicans. Just get on the list. Find your representative here.

TAKE CARE.

Remember to take care of yourself, too.

Check out the grab your wallet spreadsheet for Trump-supporting companies you can boycott. A boycott is the easiest way to protest. Plus, you could probably stand to save some money anyway. There’s also contact information on the spreadsheet, if you’d like to tell the company why you’re boycotting.

To educate yourself on the financial crisis that led to the 2008 recession, watch the film The Big Short — get an economics lesson and watch Ryan Gosling wearing a tailored suit for two and a half hours (win-win). Or read up on what Dodd Frank is and how it is meant to protect Main Street from Wall Street. (Links to come.)

You made so many phone calls this week! Now take care of your voice. Take a few minutes to mindfully enjoy a warm cup of tea, and experience the warmth as it spreads through your chest and body. Remember that lemon cuts mucus, and honey soothes, but they work best seperately. STAY HYDRATED. And don’t be afraid to set aside a few moments of the day to just be quiet.

Go straight to the source. Appealing to Trump’s ego (and getting under his skin) may be the best way to get rid of Bannon, so tweet to @Potus himself. Show him this article and hashtag it #PresidentBannon. (It might be effective, but it will satisfy your inner mean girl.)

Grab a cup of coffee. Support one of the 800 coffee shops that support the ACLU.